Tag Archives: Passive Solar

The August event for the Transition Town Guildford Sustainable Homes action group will be another house tour and it’s an owner designed solar passive house.

“Sitting on a 1-acre property at the edge of Mundaring townsite, this house is a sophisticated response to its setting. It was designed as our family home and I have recently launched my design business Edgefield Projects (www.edgefieldprojects.com.au). The building forms a simple L-shape in plan, with a 2m wide Jarrah deck verandah running along the inside edge, focusing the house onto the social hub: a central terrace and lawn area. The living spaces are laid out within one large volume that is bookended by a sophisticated natural oak kitchen on one end and a recycled brick fireplace (with pellet stove insert) on the other.”

Features include:

Passive solar heating in winter using polished concrete floor

Windows allow for cross-ventilation, and ceiling fans throughout provide air movement for thermal comfort.

The Transition Town Guildford Sustainable Homes Group will be hosting a presentation by ecological architect Gerard Siero on Solar Design in a Changing Climate. His talk presents the challenges we face, and examples of potential household design solutions.

“Gerard Siero is an ecological architect with 43 years industry experience, on projects ranging from ecological planning to public buildings, schools and housing, emphasising ecological design for sustainability, economy, life and delight, in thoughtful architecture integrated with landscape. His practice has been based in Perth since 1985. Gérard continues to educate on and explore sustainable, climate-responsive architecture, construction, planning and landscape, with an ecological perspective.

Architecture celebrates humanity and life – “Design with nature, design for Life”. Sites and clients are unique. The aim is to create a place that reflects genius loci and the inhabitants, and harmonises the opportunities and challenges of the project towards creating something life giving, functional and beautiful.
In studying the ecological and social crises we now face: climate, habitat and biodiversity losses, rather than disaster, Gerard sees ours as a time of amazing opportunity, of reconnection, relationship, equity, justice and wholeness … transforming our society and economy into life-giving relationships with the Earth and each other!”

As part of National Sustainable Homes Day – 14th of September 2014 – the Transition Town Guildford Sustainable Homes action group organized a bus tour of three far away homes. We visited two in Safety Bay and one in East … Continue reading →